A Mermaid's Tale
by storyteller221
Summary: Amy Cahill may be a stuttering, shy girl on land. But she's a totally different being in the water. As the Clue Hunt commences, will Amy have the strength to save humanity and mermanity as we know it?
1. Prologue

_July 17th, 1998_

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm staying here at Grace's mansion while Daddy is teaching math at college and Mommy is staying home and taking care of Dan, my baby brother. He's only 1, but he cries all the time. I think it's because he doesn't like being born too early, but Mommy says he's fine. Anyway, you wouldn't beleve what happend today! I went with Grace to go swim in one of the beautyfull scenec rivers west of Boston, and all of a suden I had a fish tail instead of legs. I cried and cried but Grace told me that it was a good thing that I got a fish tail. I asked her why and she explained that I am dessended from a long line of mermaids, and that now I have inheritted those skills. I was so happy about it! Grace says she's going to ask Mommy to train me every day during the summer. I can't wait! Thanks for listening Diary._

_Love,_

_Amy Cahill_

_June 21st, 2000_

_Dear Diary,_

_Dan is growing a lot. Mama says that if he keeps growing, he'll be taller than me one day. But I'm still much taller than him, so he has a really long way to go. Ever since I started my training with Grace, I have become better and better every day. But, I fear there is something else going on. Grace keeps getting these strange letters. She won't let me look at them, but yesterday I snuck into her office and looked at one of them. I have that copy right here, even:_

**Madame Isabel's Academy for Young Mermaids**

**Dear whomever it is concerned:**

**Congratulations! Your daughter/granddaughter/niece/cousin has a very talented gift, that of a real, beautiful mermaid! My name is Madame Isabel, and I am a mermaid myself, one very highly suited in our modern day society no less. I would like to invite your daughter/granddaughter/niece/cousin to join my academy, where she will learn how to become a proper mermaid. Being a proper mermaid includes beauty, singing, and most importantly, defense mechanisms that will ensure the safety of your daughter/granddaughter/niece/cousin. However, I only teach in the summertime, so you will be able to see your little mermaid again for the school year. If you would like to enroll, please bring your daughter/granddaughter/etc. to my academy at: **

**1979 Washington Boulevard, Venice, Los Angeles. **

**I would ever so love it if you enrolled, so I may train your little mermaid with every bit of knowledge I have. Thank you for your cooperation.**

**Signed:**

**Madame Isabel Kabra**

**Mermaid Extraordinaire**

_It looks like a lot of rubbish to me. Uh-oh. Grace is looking for me. We haven't finished our daily training today. See you later!_

_Love,_

_Amy Cahill_

_August 1st, 2005_

_Dear Diary,_

_Grace took me to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia so that I can meet the Mermaid Parliament of our modern day mermaid society in the mermaid capital of the world, Coral City. Apparently, she's on good terms with the Parliament, except for Madame Isabel Kabra (yes the same Madame from the Academy) who she doesn't like for some reason. I learned a lot about our mermaid government. For instance, our society is like a pyramid, like any other society. At the bottom is the sea creatures. They can't think or speak, but without them we mermaids would never have existed (Grace said she'd explain that to me later) and they're vital to the ocean and its ecosystem (that part I understand). Above the sea creatures is the working mermaids, the ones who work for the higher ranking mermaids. Then, above the working mermaids, is the middle mermaids. They're kind of the middle class of mermaid society. They're not working like the working mermaids below them, but they're not rich like the high mermaids. Up next is the high mermaids (don't really need to explain them), then the Mermaid Parliament, and finally the Magistrate. The Magistrate's identity is actually never revealed to anyone but his/her secretary and can be anyone, even a human. But no human has ever been Magistrate before and hopefully never will, considering what humans have been doing nowadays. Nothing but war. Our society would fall apart. Anyway, this isn't the first time Grace has taken me somewhere exciting. She's been taking me all over the world (underwater of course, only Grace isn't as fast as she used to be). Uh-oh. Dan's about to burst into my room to ask me where I've been. I've got to hide my diary, fast! _

_August 18th, 2008_

_Dear Diary,_

_Grace had more secrets than I thought. Apparently, I'm now related to all of the major names and faces in human history, in the Cahill family. Now, everybody is up to everybody else's throats trying to find some treasure that can be found with 39 clues. Her funeral (and the initiation of this contest) was a few weeks ago, yet Dan and I (we're a team now) have escaped Death nearly 50 times now (I lost count at 20). There's something else too. Before Dan and I started, Grace's old lawyer William McIntyre secretly gave me a letter and instructed me to open it when I was sure I was alone. Well, Dan and Nellie (our au pair) are sleeping now, so I guess now is a good time to read it. _

_August 19th, 2008_

_Dear Diary,_

_You wouldn't believe what Grace wrote to me in her letter. Unfortunately, it's all true, and now I have bigger responsibilites on hand. If I fail at both the 39 clues contest and/or this new responsibility, she wrote, it could mean the end of mermanity and humanity._


	2. Gods, Grace

Having an entire dead coral reef collapse on you was scary enough (long story). But surviving the bomb in the Franklin Institute, and then only finding Sinead's phone afterwards, Amy just could not think straight. Nellie, their au pair, picked up both Amy and Dan and sped to the Independence Hall, all the while screaming, but Amy couldn't hear her for a good five minutes before her hearing came back.

"...thought you were joking!" Nellie cried. Amy wiped her eyes. For some strange reason, she was crying. And for the Starlings no less. "The Starlings," she whispered, "They just..." Dan explained to his scared sister, "Maybe they're okay." Nellie just ignored them and warned, "You guys, this is serious. Somebody just tried to blast you into tiny little pieces. I can't babysit you if-" Dan corrected, "Au pair us."

"...Whatever!"

Soon, they reached Independence Hall. Nellie turned off the car and said, "Look, guys...this deal's off. Whatever you've gotten yourselves into...this is way too dangerous for a couple of kids." Amy had wanted to correct her at that. She wasn't a kid. She was far better than that. But she caught herself and Nellie continued, "I'm going to take you back to your aunt." "No!" Dan pleaded. "Nellie, you can't. She'll..." Amy gave her brother the signal to shut up and, realizing his mistake, Dan did so. Nellie glared at Dan and asked him suspiciously, "She'll what?" Dan looked to his sister for help, but Amy was still too much in shock to be of help. So he explained, "Nothing. Please, Nellie, this is important. Just wait for us. Please?" After some more pleading, Nellie finally said,

"I've got six more songs on my playlist. If you're not back in the car when the last song is over, and ready to explain _everything_," she looked from Dan to Amy and then back to Dan, "I am calling Beatrice." Dan gave Nellie a thumbs-up as he and Amy left the car.

* * *

><p>After a run-in with William McIntyre, some research on some of the final years of Ben Franklin's life, and begging Nellie to take them to Paris, Amy couldn't wait to get back in the water. Unfortunately, she was in the east side of Boston, and her usual river was west of Boston. So, she had to settle for one of Boston's lesser known recreational centers where, fortunately, the owner was also a mermaid. After making sure the center was deserted and the security cameras to the pools were disabled, Amy began to think as she swam laps in the lap pool.<p>

_Gods, Grace, what are you doing to us?_ She thought. _Mostly, to me? First you train me on how to be a proper mermaid, but now this Cahill...gods, I don't even know what to call it. Hunt? Contest? Death-trap? What if I mess up? What if someone sees me as a mermaid? That would be bringing two very different secrets together, and that would definitely not be good. And poor Dan. He has to worry about my being a mermaid, his own son-of-mermaid powers, and the clue hunt. Meanwhile, I only have to worry about both Dan and my own lives and sanity. _

Amy's thoughts were interrupted when she finished her 28th lap, and saw Dan next to the pool with a towel in his hand. Amy smiled as she swam to the surface to meet him. "Hey," said Amy as she sat on the edge of the pool and he gave her the towel. "Hey yourself," Dan remarked sarcastically. Amy rolled her eyes and dried herself with the towel. Dan waited until she was done, then asked, "So, did you know anything about this clue thing? Honestly?" Amy shook her head. "No. I only knew about one of Grace's secrets." With that she pointed to her tail. "But this whole clue thing...I don't know what I want to think of it." Dan nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty crazy..." Dan paused, then continued, "like your face!" Amy glared at Dan, and then pushed him into the water. Now, Dan, being a son-of-a-mermaid, had his own talents as well. For example, instead of getting a tail, his feet would turn into flippers. The sides of his neck would transform into gills. Dan loved turning into his son-of-mermaid self, because it's always so much fun to scare the heck out of his friends at the swimming pool. Laughing, Dan swam to the surface and pulled up next to Amy. Both then stared at the water of the pool, which was now calming from Dan's being pushed into it. As it relaxed, so did they.

"Wouldn't it be great," asked Dan, "If this clue hunt was all underwater? That way, we would win in under 5 minutes or so." Amy smiled and shook her head. She said, "I agree but since Grace is...well, gone...we need to be even more careful of our identities. The last thing we would want is for, say, the Holts to accidentally see us as they go scuba diving for a clue, or something like that." Dan gave Amy a very perplexed look and Amy said defensively, "Just saying." Dan only shrugged in reply as both gazed at the water once more.


	3. Arretez!

"...Hey, if it's money, I got plenty of that. I can even throw in a day on the set of _Who Wants to Be a Gangsta?_ You can't do better than that." Please. Jonah Wizard was such a fake. And he wasn't even that good of a singer. Oh, if Amy could just show him **real** singing...

But if Amy did, then lots of problems would arise. Jonah would fall in love with her singing. He'd start stalking her. Then he'd find her in her mermaid form and would inadvertently expose her secret to the public. She'd be arrested by the Mermaid Parliament and be in jail for a good number of years for exposing herself to the world. And that would've been only within the year. Amy pushed down her anger and frustration at the fake star and looked out the window. There she saw something that made her blood turn to ice. What was _she_ doing here? And was she really carrying...

"Right here! Pull over, please!" The driver obeyed while Jonah looked outside his limo and frowned at the hotel where Amy called him over. The hotel was called 'Maison des Gardons', which Amy translated, in French, as 'House Keeping' but she kept it to herself. "Here, huh?" Jonah said. "Man, you guys like to rough it. Me, I'm staying at the Ritz. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Once the Cahills plus Nellie and their bags were dropped off, Amy ordered Nellie to make reservations. Once she left, she dragged Dan after Irina Spasky, who had the _Poor Richard's Almanack_ in her possession.

* * *

><p>Running from angry people, Amy was used to. Running from heavily armored guards in a Lucian stronghold, Amy still needs to get the idea wrapped in her head.<p>

"_Arr__ê__tez!"_ shouted a man from behind them. "Oh, great!" Amy exclaimed under her breath. She knew that word in French all too well. "This way!" called Dan as he turned a corner. Even though the building's automatic defenses were activated, Amy and Dan have been sliding under bars and crashing through windows, as if they were trained proffessionals in a movie set. They barely managed to get away, and sunk behind a purple ice-cream van, exhausted. "Let's not do that again," Amy commented. "At least not for a while."

"Let's go back to the Metro," Dan suggested. But Amy shook her head and said, "No time. We have to find out what's on that island, and we have to get there before Irina."

"And _Poor Richard's Almanack_?" Amy thought a while before saying,

"Let me try something first before we completely forget about the book." Dan nodded, knowing she was talking about her fishy secret. But first...

Dan's stomach growled very loudly. "Five minutes," the siblings said together, then stood up and bought some ice cream from the van they were hiding behind.

* * *

><p>Irina growled. The trap had worked, but they had escaped. No doubt little Amy's mermaid skills had helped them. No matter though. She continued examining the book, but there was nothing important to her about it. Just some notes written by hands that have held it before her. <em>Maze of Bones<em>..._Follow Franklin_...bah! Ridiculous nonsense! She set the book on her bedside table and laid down on the bed, yet she knew it would still be a good many hours before she would be able to sleep.

Suddenly, a small noise came from the window of her two-story hotel room. Curious, Irina turned her body to the window and closed her eyes, letting her ears do the work. In stepped two soft feet. They sounded small, but not that of a child. She heard hair as it wisped past the curtains that were attached to the window. Obviously a young girl was trying to sneak into her room. And she knew who this young girl was. Just before the intruder could grab the book, Irina grabbed Amy Cahill's wrist. Amy's eyes lit up in surprise, but reacted quickly and wrenched her wrist out of Irina's grasp before her poisoned nails could take an effect. Irina looked at Amy. She was in her mermaid battle form, a form in which mermaids take whenever they want to use their powers, but not use their tail. Irina stood from her bed and hissed at Amy, then said softly but coldly, "Don't you know the risk for running about in the state you are in?" Amy glared at Irina and softly answered back,

"Sometimes the reward is greater than the risk, _dear cousin_." Amy exaggerated the two last words so as to aggravate Irina, and it worked. With that, Irina lunged at Amy. It was a stupid mistake, and both knew it, and Amy was able to dodge the lunge perfectly, but Irina was able to swiftly move behind Amy and make a grab from her arms. She did, but Amy kicked Irina's ankles, which sent Irina crashing down to the floor. Once she was on the floor, Amy ran to the table where the book was set, but Irina grabbed Amy's ankles and pulled her away, causing Amy to fall onto the floor as well. Both mermaids wrestled until Irina had Amy in a neckhold, her left arm holding the lock, and her right hand on Amy's face, ready to slash with her poisoned nails. Amy wasn't through yet though. She summoned some water from Irina's bathroom and splashed it in a small but effective headlong torrent that sent Irina flying across the room to the window. Amy grabbed the book but before she could leap out the window, Irina hugged Amy's torso tightly, grabbed the book and pushed Amy out the window.

Amy held onto the railing of the window as best she could, and Irina hung over her like a vulture waiting for its prey to die. Suddenly, a helicopter and sirens were heard in the distance. Panicked, Irina pulled Amy into her room and closed the window and the curtains. They continued their fight inside the hotel room.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Amy was exhausted, and almanack-less. The fight she had with Irina was fruitless and in vain. During breakfast, when Dan asked what happened, she muttered back, "Never fight an experienced fighter who also has poisoned nails in her arsenal." Thanks to those nails, Amy now had a massive headache, but she insisted to both Dan and Nellie (the latter still not knowing the fishy secret) that she was fine, and that they should continue the search.<p>

So far, Amy felt like a big idiot when it came to her mermaid self. Of course Irina would hear her coming in through the window last night! And her human self wasn't really its best either. Every time she needed to speak up, she failed. The other teams probably thought she was a mumbling loser, which was what Amy originally wanted from the time she learned how to swim with a tail. But now, with the Clue hunt, she wasn't so sure. After breakfast, she and Dan continued their way to 23 Rue de Jardins.


	4. 23 Rue des Jardins

23 Rue des Jardins. At first, Amy thought there might have been some tomb to dig. But as she and her brother looked around the cemetary, there was a certain feeling in the air that made her nervous. Something wasn't right. Not that cemetaries were a bad thing, she had her respects for them, but something was off. As if her mermaid senses were warning her that danger was upon them and they needed to get out...and fast. But, she didn't say anything, for Dan loved tombstones and would rather die in a tomb than not get at least one tombstone rubbing. Amy observed an inscription that was on a slab of marble in front of the doorway. Amy read:

_SE TROUVENT ICI_

_AMY ET DAN CAHILL_

_ILS ONT COLLÉ LEURS NEZ DANS_

_LES AFFAIRES DES AUTRES_

Immediately, Amy's senses were above high alert. She knew what it said, and they needed to get out of the cemetary, now. But before she could warn Dan, Dan came from behind Amy and asked, "Whoa...why are our names..." He went closer to check it out, but Amy cried, "No, it's a trap!"

Too late, Dan stepped through the marble slab and fell through. Amy, stupidly, ran to the edge of the hole, but the edge also crumbled and she also fell into the darkness that was the trap. For a second, she was too dazed to think. She coughed, her lungs were suddenly filled with dust. She was going to have a hard time getting the dust out when she could go swimming again. If she ever got out of the trap first. She was sitting on something soft and warm...

"Dan!" In a panic she scrambled off him and shook his arms, but it was still too dark to see. "Dan, please, be alive!" Dan grunted, which meant he was alive. Relieved, Amy looked around the pit that they were in. "The ground was hollowed out," she observed, "The earth here is limestone. Lots of caves and tunnels under Paris."

"And Irina led us to it." Dan said. Suddenly, a light blinded her from above. Amy looked up and could obviously tell it was the Holt family and their annoying dog Harold. "It figures." Dan said. "You helped Irina set us up!"

"Oh get over it runt," Madison called down. "We didn't set up anybody." "You losers fell in all by yourselves." She and Madison gave each other a high five. That was when Eisenhower accused Amy of having stolen the book that was stolen from them by Irina- the _Almanack_. Amy put on her most innocent tone and her most innocent face and answered, "But we don't have the book. We didn't even get a chance to-"

"Oh come on!" Hamilton cried. "It was right there on page fifty-two- _BF: Maze of Bones, coordinates in the box_. It was in your mom's handwriting. Dad recognized it." That surprised Amy. She never got to page fifty-two, but the Holts did.

_Okay, think Amy, think!_ She thought. _What would your mermaid self do?_ An idea hatched in her mind, Amy called out, "I-I don't know what it means...we don't have the book. But if you let us out of here, maybe I could-" But she was interrupted by Madison Holt.

"Yeah, right!" she sneered. "Like we'd help you!" Then the entire Holt clan started laughing at her, and making fun of her. Oh, if only she could get out of this trap, then, oh, then...

But Dan grabbed her arm, which immediately calmed her down. Hamilton called down, "Man you two are pathetic. I can't believe you got past the fire and the bomb." Now it was Amy restraining Dan.

"_You_ burned down Grace's mansion? _You_ set off the bomb in the museum?" "To slow you down," Eisenhower admitted. "We should've beaten you up in person. Sorry about that."

Suddenly, the ground shook. There was a rumbling sound like a large engine. The Holts turned toward the street and looked astonished by whatever they saw. "This was an ambush, wasn't it?" Eisenhower called down. "What are you talking about?" asked Dan.

"A truck is blocking the gates!" Mary-Todd said. "A cement truck." Now Amy's senses were reaching the moon. Dan turned toward her, and she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"They're going to fill the hole," Dan said. "Aren't they?" All Amy could do was nod. Dan thought fast. "Mr. Holt!" Dan cried. "Come on, you've got to get us out! We'll help you!" Mr. Holt only snorted though. "You led us into this. Besids, you runts can't fight." Can't fight? Oh, if only he knew...

But the next thing Amy knew was Eisenhower lowering his jacket into the pit and ordering her to grab the sleeve. She did, and soon she and Dan were out of the pit. Sure enough, a cement truck had blocked the gates of the cemetary. Six thugs in coveralls and hard hats were lined up at the fence, hefting shovels like they were ready to fight.

"All right team," Eisenhower said with relish. "Let's show 'em how it's done – Holt style!" The Holt family charged at four of the thugs. The other two thugs went after Amy and Dan. Before Amy could react, Dan took a small sphere out of his backpack and threw it. Unfortunately, Dan couldn't pitch to save his life. Instead of hitting the two thugs, Dan got the entire Holt family and the four thugs they were fighting. Amy facepalmed before remembering the other two thugs who were after them. Perfect. Amy took her jade medallion and morphed it into a long speak with multiple edges. Then, she seperated the spear into two long knives, giving one of them to Dan. Then, both she and Dan attacked the thugs, getting an easy victory. Morphing the two knives back into her medallion, Amy and Dan ran past the Holts, past the graveyard, and into safety. Even if that safety meant an angry au pair waiting at an almost broken-down hotel.


	5. A different deal

Normally, water had a positive effect on Amy. But as she climbed to the peak of the church the rain went into her eyes and stung them. Oh well, her eyes will have to wait. Finally, she was at the peak. An old iron lightning rod pointed into the sky. At its base was a metal ring like a tiny basketball hoop, and below that a grounding wire, _just like Franklin used to do_. Quickly, Amy lashed the wire around her wrist, then took out the vial. Carefully, she slipped the vial into the ring. Then, lightning struck. The glass vial which Amy slipped into the ring was now glowing a murky green. Victorious, Amy took the vial and carefully slid down the roof into the bell tower.

"Dan! I did it! And it wasn't even that hard, compared to-" But she stoppedi n her tracks. Dan was lying on the floor, bound and gagged. Standing over him, as handsome as ever, was Ian Kabra.

"Hello, cousin." he said with a smirk. "I'll trade you." Dan struggled and obviously tried to say something but failed. "Let – let him go!" Amy stammered. She was as angry as ever, but she had to keep her cool (in this case, her stammer), or else...

The Holts were still pounding away below, trying to get through the trapdoor below them. "You only have a few seconds before they come up," Ian warned. "Besides, your brother needs the antidote." Amy's stomach clenched. "Wh-what have you done to him?" Ian shrugged casually and answered, "Nothing that can't be reversed if you act in the next minute or so." But as Amy looked at Dan, she realized right off the bat that Ian was lying. But Ian continued, dangling the so-called antidote. "Give me Franklin's vial. It's a fair trade." Finally, Amy couldn't hold in her anger any longer. She stood straight, gave Ian a cold, unforgiving smile and said to him, "You're lying, _cousin_." Ian blinked a few times before regaining his composure and replying,

"What do you mean, cousin?" Despite Dan's constant silent warnings from behind Ian, Amy glared at Ian, gave him a cold smile, and said once more, "You're lying. Dan is completely fine. You haven't poisoned him." Ian blinked a few more times, obviously not used to Amy saying something so coldly. Amy's smile vanished and she gave Ian a glare that would have frightened any other man. She stepped towards him menacingly, all the while holding the vial and dangling it in front of Ian, like a carrot in front of a horse.

"How about a different deal, Ian? How about I give you this vial, if you get the hell out of my face." Ian wasn't giving up yet though. He did his best to glare back at her and suggested, "And suppose I don't get out of your face?" Amy smirked at him and, out of the blue, took out a jade dagger and held it to his throat. This shocked Ian, not just the dagger, but Amy's sudden change of personality. Her eyes had also changed, from her usual dull green to a vibrant but dangerous jade green. From behind them, Dan was really struggling against his binds. If Amy goes any further than this, Ian's going to find out the secret! He has to stop her before she does anything else. But Ian just calmly took the vial, said "Done" and flew out on the kite that he was attached to by a harness.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you did that," Dan said to Amy, disgusted. Both Amy and Dan had left Paris, now on their way to Venice, with their first clue <em>Iron Solute<em>. Amy was swimming in her mermaid form on the Marne River, while Dan was in his son-of-mermaid form.

Amy only smirked back and replied, "Ian was asking for it. Besides, I was still angry about the Holts in that cemetary. Do you think I'd be able to bottle up that much anger for long?" Dan knew Amy had a point. If anything, mermaids were known for their ruthlessness and, sometimes, anger. Meanwhile, Ian was lying in his comfortable silk bed in one of the most luxurious suites in the luxurious Hôtel de Crillon, but he couldn't sleep. He looked once more at the clock by his bed. The time read _10:45_. Ian should be asleep by now, but he couldn't. Not with the vision of vibrant green eyes glaring at him every time he closes his eyes. That was so...unlike Amy. He didn't know her that well, but still she acted like...like..._like what?_ Confused, and perhaps a little scared, Ian was finally able to push the green eye vision out of his mind and get a peaceful rest.


	6. Saladin and the blizzard paper

They were cornered. Never did once in Amy's life believe that she would be cornered by five idiots with muscles and their equally idiotic dog. She needed to think fast.

From the floor, Dan pulled up a hockey stick wrapped in brown paper. Amy looked at Dan and asked in a doubtful voice, "Seriously?" Eisenhower barged into the mail car that Amy and Dan were locked in and slammed Dan into the wall. "Dan!" Amy cried. Blinded by rage, Amy snatched the stick and broke it over Eisenhower's head with all her strength, which was a lot, considering she was a mermaid. The big man absorbed the blow, wobbled, and collapsed on a mailbag. Dan grinned a victory grin. "Whoa!" he cried. "Knockout!"

But their victory was short-lived. Holts stormed the car. Madison grabbed Amy by the collar and Reagan yanked Dan upright.

"Sugar maple!" Mary-Todd cried. "Are you all right?" Eisenhower sat up, an egg-size lump blooming on his crown. "Of course I'm all right!" he managed, his words slurred. "You think a little insect can stop _me_?" Reagan was unconvinced. "I don't know Dad. She brained you with a baseball bat!"

"Hockey stick," Dan corrected. Eisenhower glared at Dan, or tried to anyway. "Those could be your last words, brat-" The victim leaped to his feet, then reeled and almost went down again. Not wanting this to go any further, Amy demanded. "What do you want?"

"That's putting on your thinking cap!" Mary-Todd approved. "Give us the clue from Paris, and nothing will happen to you."

"It's better than you deserve," her husband added, rubbing his head gingerly. Amy inwardly smirked. The Holts must not know that there were two parts to the clue. "We don't have it," Amy told them. "The Kabras took it."

"They took the bottle," Madison corrected. "Don't worry, they'll pay soon enough. You've got the paper." Amy now inwardly snarled. The Holts were still Dolts, but at least they caught on to things quickly.

"What paper?" Dan asked defiantly. In reply, Eisenhower grasped Dan by the collar and lifted him as easily as he might have raised his arm to signal a waiter. "Listen you little stinkbug. You think you're hot stuff because you two were Grace's favorites. But to me, the pair of you mean less than what gets cleaned out of the bottom of a birdcage!" His massive paw closed on Dan's neck, squeezing like an industrial-strength vise. Dan gasped for breath and realized he had none. Amy's sisterly instincts kicked in. She looked around the car, but there was no way out. Then, she saw something through the window to the other car. It was Saladin and she saw a piece of paper hanging from his mouth. Saladin had eaten the clue! Victorious, and noting to reward Saladin with snapper later, Amy cried, "Stop it! We'll give you anything you want!"

Madison was triumphant. "I told you they'd fold under the full-court press." "Now, Madison," her mother admonished. "Amy did the smart thing. Not all Cahills have what it takes." _Have what it takes?_ That definitely seemed to set off Amy a bit, because her eyes started to convert back to her fiery green eyes, the same ones she used on Ian in Paris. Dan quickly stood up and put his hand on her shoulder, calming Amy in seconds.

The Holts began marching them toward the back of the train. "Don't get any ideas," Eisenhower muttered as a porter sidled past them.

_If only you said that a little bit before you cornered us_, Amy thought. Nellie was squished by Hamilton when they reached the car, but she forgot her discomfort as she asked anxiously, "Did they hurt you? Are you all right?" Amy nodded and said glumly, "We're fine." Then, she turned to Eisenhower and told him, "It's in the overhead." All five Holts reached over but were surprised to see Saladin, their cat, with a blizzard of shredded paper, just what Amy had hoped.

Eisenhower Holt's explosion of temper proved that his muscles extended all the way to his vocal cords. The outburst sent passengers scurrying for adjoining cars. A moment later, a uniformed conductor rushed up the aisle, picking his way through the agitated travelers.

After some shouting and yelling between Eisenhower and the conductor, the Holts jumped off the train and rolled down the hillside in tight formation.

* * *

><p>Amy snuck back from the market to their hotel the Franz Josef. In her hand was freshly stolen red snapper. She gave it to Saladin, commenting on what a wonderful cat he was. Saladin mrrped as if saying, <em>Now you realize?<em> before digging in. Now having repaid Saladin for his act earlier, Amy went to a canal outside of Vienna, but took one look at the water and decided not to swim. The water was completely dirty, filthy, and was nowhere near pretty. So, she sat beside the canal and stared at the ugly water. Little did she know, though, that she was being watched.

* * *

><p>Ian Kabra stared at the girl across the canal a couple of miles away through his technologically-advanced binoculars. She was still dressed as a color-blind orphan, and she looked as if she hadn't bathed in a week, but there was one quality that seemed to stick out most to Ian. Her eyes. They were the usual tonight—boring jade green, gazing dully at the dirty water below her. But Ian kept thinking that, at any moment, vibrant fiery jade eyes will take their place and Amy will become—become what? A danger—that's for sure. Then something snapped inside of him. Why was he paying attention to this girl? Sure she had that one moment—but she's still Amy Cahill, the hopeless orphan from Boston. She was nothing special. Scowling at himself for his foolishness, Ian set down his binoculars, went back into his luxurious bedroom, and slept on his silk bed like there was no tomorrow—this time not bothered so much by fiery jade eyes.<p> 


	7. Crazy Artists and a Hightech Yacht

Nannerl was the big sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Big deal. Back home, Dan would have ignored her and continued playing _Ninja Gaiden_ or scaring his friends with his son-of-mermaid self at the pool. But, since he's part of the Clue Hunt now, he has to find the diary. Check. The diary is stolen, so he has to steal it from Jonah. Check. Oh, guess what? There are two frickin' pages missing from the diary, so now he and Amy have to go get those diary pages, which by the way, he just saw in a glass case in the center of the room once Amy pointed them out. Dan inwardly sighed. Are things ever going to get easy?

Dan didn't get to answer that question in his mind because, as he examined the diary pages, he asked, "What do they say?" Amy regarded him with exasperation. "They're in German, dweeb. We have to get them out of here and show them to Nellie." Dan again inwardly sighed. Amy knew English, French, and a good portion of Spanish, but Grace forgot to teach her German for her mermaid training.

"That'll be a neat trick," her brother commented ruefully. He indicated a strange device connected to the display case. A small white porcelain tray was mounted beneath a bright light source. "I've seen pictures of these. It's a retinal scanner. You stick your chin in the holder, and the light reads your eyeball." Amy stepped from the scanner. He could tell, she was thinking it was a possibility that they could trick the scanner, but suddenly the two heard a voice from outside the Mozart room where they hid. "This place is off the hook, yo! Mom never told me all these heavy hitters were Cahills..."

Thinking fast, Dan and Amy hid behind the Mozart family harpsichord, where behind it, they witnessed Jonah Wizard, his father Broderick, and another Janus agent take Nannerl's pages. Amy jumped up but Dan pulled him back down. "What are you going to do?" he hissed. "Mug Jonah Wizard in the middle of Janus headquarters?"

"We can't let him go!" she retorted. "We might as well just hand him the whole contest!"

"Getting yourself caught isn't going to change that!" her brother insisted. "This is _his_ turf! We'd have to fight a gang of crazy artists who'd rip our heads off for those three pages because they love these dumb museum pieces more than life itself!" This gave Amy an idea. Suddenly, Amy's eyes changed from her human eyes to her mermaids eyes. Before Dan could stop her, Amy ran out of the Mozart room, dashed past Jonah, and grabbed a bottle of red paint before anybody could say 'paint'. The next thing they knew, Amy had threatened the Janus with the priceless and finished George Washington painting being ruined for good.

* * *

><p>The boat came into view, fast. Fiery jade green eyes that belonged to a certain girl were on that boat. Ian shook his head and barked to the captain, "Block them." The captain looked uncertain and replied uncertainly, "But they could hit the yacht." Ian glared at the captain and hissed, "My parents pay you to follow my orders. Now do as I say, or you'll receive a fate worse than being fired!" Afraid for his life, the captain quickly did what he was told. The high-tech yacht turned to the side and the small boat collapsed like a balsa wood model. Ian smirked as the captain and another crew member picked up the Cahill siblings and threw them onto the yacht. Natalie, who was reading a <em>Teen Vogue<em> magazine, winced at the sight of the two and cried, "Disgusting! Throw those two into the cockpit!" The captain looked over at Ian, and Ian dismissively waved his hand to signal him to do as Natalie ordered. Without another word, the captain and the other crew member harshly threw the two into the cockpit below.

"Shall we go and search them?" Ian asked his younger sister. Natalie winced again and said, "I wouldn't touch those two with a ten foot pole! _You_ do the searching." Ian rolled his eyes. Then, he took the _Teen Vogue_ magazine from his sister, unlocked the cockpit, and dragged his sister down to the unconscious Cahills, but not before making sure that Natalie search Amy. He didn't trust himself around the orphan girl at the moment.


	8. SPLASH!

Amy's head was pounding. That was the first thing she noticed. Then, she noticed her eyes were closed. Funny how you couldn't see a thing with your eyes closed. She tried opening them, but to no avail. Her eyelids felt as if one thousand pounds of weights were pressed on them. Then, she heard a voice. Not the voice of anything she'd heard since...since what?

The voice was calm, smooth, and creamy like milk. It sang a beautiful melody to her, and that's when it hit her. The voice that she was hearing in her mind used to belong to her mother. Her mother Hope was Mermaid Extroadinaire before she died in that awful fire. Strangely enough, Isabel Kabra became Mermaid Extroadinaire even though she wasn't around when Hope died...or so she claimed. Amy drifted along the sounds of the voice, listening to it, and embracing the sound that she had not heard for seven years.

Then, she felt searing heat and the image of a burning apartment danced in her vision.

_Make it stop_ –

"Amy..."

Amy's eyes opened immediately. Dan knelt over her, gently shaking her arm. His hair and clothes were wet and damp. Luckily, though, Dan learned how to suppress his gills and fins long ago. Amy's body suddenly ached all over from the bumps and bruises of the crash with the yacht. The last thing that Amy had recovered was her voice. "Where are we?" She looked around and was surprised to see that the room was luxurious in itself, but with a sort of evil to it. Taunting. Amy's mermaid senses began to tingle as Dan supplied her with details.

"Door's locked. I've heard voices outside too. But I don't think Jonah's one of them." Amy's senses were now on the brink of terrified. "Do you think it could be the Madrigals?" Amy blurted out without thinking. The once-locked hatch was thrown open. "What do _you_ know about Madrigals?"

Great. The _great_ Ian Kabra just had to show up. Which means that that was the _Kabras'_ yacht that Amy and Dan had crashed into. Figures. Ian's sister, Natalie, just glared at the two of them, like they were pieces of useless filth. Amy wouldn't blame her, but then again, Natalie didn't know what she was really dealing with. Ian...well that's a different story. Next to her, Dan stuck out his jaw and claimed,

"We know more about them than you!" This time, it was Natalie who responded. Her response consisted of rolling her eyes and remarking, "Nobody understands that Madrigals. No one's even sure who they are." That was when an idea of escape hit Amy. Since Ian and Natalie were above the room, then they couldn't see what Amy was doing. Therefore, she reached for the nearest window, gave the signal to Dan to 'keep them busy' and quickly and silently unscrewed the bolts that kept the window shut. Dan immediately understood what his mermaid sister was going to do, and kept on talking. He smiled and said, "Touchy! I guess you don't like it when somebody knows something that you don't."

Amy finally finished un-screwing the canal window and opened it. The warm air of Venice greeted Amy's body as she hoisted herself up to the window, and stuck a leg through.

"Our parents tell us _everything_," Ian said haughtily. "Not like your precious Grace, who left you in the dark and then turned you loose to wreck the contest!" Finally, Amy manage to wrestle her other leg through the window, and out she slid into the cold and dirty water below.

**SPLASH!**

Unfortunately, making silent dives into water was not one of Amy's specialties. Ian and Natalie Kabra now rushed down into the compartment where both saw the open window and that they were missing one Cahill prisoner. The captain came and held Dan by his collar as Natalie pointed her dart gun at him and demanded, "Where did she go?" Ian, examining the window, but found it to be in perfect condition (save for the glass part of the window which was on the floor) asked,

"And how did she get out?" This was responded by a huge push to the port side of the ship. Confused and frantic, Ian, Natalie, and the Kabras' captain scurried up to the deck of the canal. Dan, taking this chance, jumped off the canal onto the dock below. While the Kabras looked to the port side of the ship, a small but effective wave of water slithered its way between the canal and the dock and pushed the canal away from the dock. This caused Natalie and the captain to fall into the water, but Ian managed to hold on to the railing. That was when waves from all four directions, bow, port, starboard, and the stern rose high above the horizon and then collapsed onto Ian and the canal, crushing the canal completely.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so friggin' long to post, but I had lost inspiration for this for a long time, and finally, I had finished a chapter! About time, right? Geez, storyteller, way to procrastinate though. Unfortunately, don't get your hopes up folks. It's finals week for me and I have way too much stuff to do. So sorry but that's how it goes. Until then!**


	9. They will pay

Satisfied with her work, Amy removed a slick of oil from her jade-green tail and began to swim to the hiding spot where she saw Dan run to to hide after he jumped off the yacht to get to safety. Suddenly, she heard a muffled _yelp!_ from behind her. She turned to see Ian Kabra, his leg stuck between the ship's wheel and the door to the cockpit. He was drowning – and drowning fast. Amy started to swim to him, but stopped and pondered.

_Wait a minute_, she thought. _If I saved him, then there is the chance of him seeing me in my form, one of the most important rules of mermaid policy when it comes to humans. But then again, if I don't save him, then he'll drown and I'll have to live with that burden for the rest of my life. But I've drowned people before, so why is this snob so different? And besides, he'll only come after me, since everyone in the Clue Hunt is out for each other's throats. But then again..._

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Ian sinking very close to the bottom. Amy had better make a choice quick. Finally, she decided. She swam as fast as she could to Ian, removed the wheel and the door and helped him to an empty dock. However, she then noticed that he wasn't breathing. Due to his obvious outward struggling, Amy guessed there was too much water in his lungs. Therefore, before she could think twice, she began to sing:

"_O nautae, o nautae,_

_Audite hoc carmen._

_Sana quoque, eitam sanes,_

_Et semel amplex Vit."_

Immediately, after her song was done, Ian started spurting out water and coughed violently. Amy took this chance to dive, praying that he didn't see or hear her. Unfortunately for Amy, Ian both saw and heard her. First, he only heard a sweet voice, nothing unlike his mother's. Unlike his mother's, which haunted you, this voice was sweet, melodic, and very appealing to the ear. After the song was finished, the water that Ian had in his lungs burst out of him, and before he could react, he saw a jade-green tail dissappear into the canal water below. It all somehow seemed familiar. Unusual waves, vibrant eyes, beautiful voice, a tail... It was a suspicion to be sure. But Ian needed more than just enounters. He needed evidence.

"Ian!" someone cried in the distance. Ian's mind snapped out of his thoughts and he turned to see a very disgusted and dirty Natalie, with oil slicks covering her new Prada shoes. Ouch. Ian would need to be careful around his sister for the next couple of days. Said sister sneered and seethed as Ian stood and threatened in a low voice, "If that _ever_ happens again, there will be consequences, I assume?" Ian nodded in agreement and reassured, "Whoever did this will pay, dear sister, I guarantee it." Natalie, seemingly happy with Ian's agreement, took out her phone and called the hotel. She walked away as she argued with the manager, "I don't care if your hotel has to serve everyone, I want people ready to dress me in new clothes the minute I get to the hotel, understand?" Ian took one last glance at the water, almost as if looking to prove his theories, but finally dropped it as he followed his sister to their limo.

**A/N:**

**Yikes! Ian heard Amy sing! But he didn't really react did he? Or maybe he did, he just can't figure it out yet. Either way, he's on to her. Fav+review please!**

**~storyteller221**

**P.S. Yes, I just posted 2 chapters in one week. PRAISE ME!**


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